Letter: No on Falmouth Question 1

There’s been a lot of discussion about the future of the Falmouth Memorial Library. Everyone is trying to predict the future in the digital age. For me, the referendum gets clearer by looking at the past.

I was on the library’s capital campaign committee in 1993. We were charged with raising money for a significant renovation. Once we raised private funds, the Town Council then agreed to put a bond before the voters. Both were successful.

Some people aren’t aware our library is a war memorial. The library got its start after a Falmouth man, James Iverson, was killed in the war. A movement started to build a statue, but quickly changed to the concept of collecting scrap metal. It was sold, the property was acquired and the library was built.

From their sadness they decided to build something that would truly be greater than any individual or any evil that might consume our world. The library books would document history and help us all remember the challenges of the past.

Donors wanted a renovation that could be expanded or changed to suit the library’s future. While it may not be a town center, the library is a town hub, connected to fields and ice rinks, and shopping.

We’re in tough times with strained budgets and town roads are in shambles. This move and development of the school site are expensive wants, not needs.